Member States’ current military capabilities and cooperation do not match the new level of ambition of the EU’s defence policy, according to a new review by the European Court of Auditors. Synergies between EU initiatives and other defence and security frameworks are essential, warn the auditors. In particular, a critical point is whether the EU […]
European Defence Union: new guidance to help Member States run joint defence procurements
The European Commission has published guidance on cooperative defence procurement to help Member States apply the Defence Procurement Directive (Directive 2009/81/EC) consistently and make use of all the cooperation possibilities it offers. This will facilitate Member States’ participation in collaborative defence projects under the future European Defence Fund and its current precursor programmes. Commissioner Elżbieta […]
Fostering defence innovation through the European Defence Fund
The European Parliament on Thursday adopted the partial agreement on the EU Defence Fund for 2021-2027, aiming for a more ‘European’ approach to defence. 328 MEPs voted in favour of the partial deal with EU ministers, with 231 against, and 19 abstaining. The EU Defence Fund will foster technological innovation and cooperation in the European […]
European Parliament confirms that the 2017 EU budget was well-managed
The European Parliament today gave its final approval, known as ‘discharge’, to the way in which the European Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, managed and implemented the EU budget in 2017. The positive vote follows from the European Court of Auditors’ decision to give the EU annual accounts a clean bill of health for […]